This is a collection guide. It is a description of archival material held in the Special Collections Division,
J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University. The materials described here are physically available in our
reading room. To see what's been digitized in this collection, click on the thumbnail at the top right of this page
or look for hyperlinks in the container list and/or the preliminary inventory.

The field book, compiled in 1839-1840 by Washington W. Hayman of Beaufort County, contains abstracts of descriptions of land located in Beaufort County and Hyde County on or near the junction of the Pamlico and Pungo Rivers or their tributaries, including Broad Creek, Jordan Creek, Indian Run, Bath Creek, Smith's Creek, Scott's Creek, and Pungo Creek. It comprises volume one of a two-volume set, and includes an index of names through the letter "H."

The abstracts, dated randomly from 1716 to 1840, indicate the owner of the property, its size, and boundaries. Some of the plats are notable because of their detail and the use of watercolors denoting waterways and boundary lines. Several plats contain crude sketches of residences. Of particular interest is a reference to 8,000 acres surveyed for John Gray Blount in 1794. Also of interest is a detailed plat of land on the west side of Bath Creek near its mouth.

Inserted in the field book is a loose assemblage of papers. Included in it is a deed search performed for William Webster by William Boyd, for land located near Gum Swamp in southeastern Beaufort County. The property, a total of 860 acres, was acquired by Edward Moseley between 1715 and 1729. The land was sold to William Webster June 6, 1729, who in turn sold parcels of varying size.

There is also a plat of adjoining properties located at Deep Run, Broad Creek, and other bodies of water, owned by Nathaniel B. Archbell, Richard Hollowell, James Adams, David Wright, Nathaniel Wright, William Davis, William Eborn, and John Satchwell. Of particular interest is a plat, rendered in watercolor, of a 200-acre tract of land located at the fork of Ingo Creek and Pantego Creek, made by David Latham in 1850. There are four other crude plats of land in the area, drawn by Latham in 1850 and 1851.

Some interesting place names mentioned among the loose papers are Devils Woodyard, Old Hare Creek, and Dividing Creek.

Container List

Surveyor's field book (1839) for lands along the Pungo River in Hyde and Beaufort Counties (item )

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It does not permit you to view the materials online or to request their photoduplication. If you would like to request
materials for photoduplication, please visit our Copying and Permissions page.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection, without the consent of those individuals, may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which East Carolina University assumes no responsibility.

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